After-Action Reports

The parentage of Hephaestus is a matter of dispute, but the most common understanding is that he was the son of Hera, who conceived him by parthenogenesis in order to revenge herself upon Zeus for siring and birthing Athena without the use of a mate. Some theologians say he was cast out of Olympus by Zeus in a fit of rage, breaking both of his legs in turn; others assert that, having been born from a virgin mother, Hephaestus also happens to be impotent and lacking in that quintessential "male essence." Whatever his handicap, he also happened to be the only man "qualified" for the job of wedding the goddess Aphrodite. The one time he was inspired to erection was with love for the virgin Athena, but he only managed to drip a little semen on her thigh.

Common History

Hephaestus was the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges and the art of sculpture. He was the son of Zeus and Hera and married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war of the gods fighting for her hand. He was a smithing god, making all of the weapons for Olympus and acting as a blacksmith for the gods and was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly Athens. Hephaestus' symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs

Hephaestus built automatons of metal to work for him. This included tripods that walked to and from Mount Olympus. He gave to the blinded Orion his apprentice Cedalion as a guide. In some versions of the myth[citation needed], Prometheus stole the fire that he gave to man from Hephaestus's forge. Hephaestus also created the gift that the gods gave to man, the woman Pandora and her pithos. Being a skilled blacksmith, Hephaestus created all the thrones in the Palace of Olympus.

The Greek myths and the Homeric poems sanctified in stories that Hephaestus had a special power to produce motion. He made the golden and silver lions and dogs at the entrance of the palace of Alkinoos in such a way that they could bite the invaders. The Greeks maintained in their civilization an animistic idea that statues are in some sense alive. This kind of art and the animistic belief goes back to the Minoan period, when Daedalus, the builder of the labyrinth, made images which moved of their own accord. A statue of the god was somehow the god himself, and the image on a man's tomb indicated somehow his presence.

In one branch of Greek mythology, Hera ejected Hephaestus from the heavens because he was "shrivelled of foot". He fell into the ocean and was raised by Thetis (mother of Achilles) and the Oceanid Eurynome.[22]

In another account, Hephaestus, attempting to rescue his mother from Zeus' advances, was flung down from the heavens by Zeus. He fell for an entire day and landed on the island of Lemnos, where he was cared for and taught to be a master craftsman by the Sintians – an ancient tribe native to that island.[23] Later writers describe his lameness as the consequence of his second fall, while Homer makes him lame and weak from his birth.

Hephaestus was the only Olympian to have returned to Olympus after being exiled.

In an archaic story, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to stand up.[b] The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he refused, saying "I have no mother".

At last, Dionysus fetched him, intoxicated him with wine, and took the subdued smith back to Olympus on the back of a mule accompanied by revelers – a scene that sometimes appears on painted pottery of Attica and of Corinth.

Related Colony

Common Rituals

Hephaestus is to the male gods as Athena is to the females, for he gives skill to mortal artists and was believed to have taught men the arts alongside Athena. He was nevertheless believed to be far inferior to the sublime character of Athena. At Athens they had temples and festivals in common. Both were believed to have great healing powers, and Lemnian earth (terra Lemnia) from the spot on which Hephaestus had fallen was believed to cure madness, the bites of snakes, and hemorrhage, and priests of Hephaestus knew how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes.

Cults and Sects

The cult of Hephaestus was based in Lemnos. This due to after was flung down from the heavens by Zeus, he fell for an entire day and landed on the island of Lemnos.